The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3 granted accelerated approval to a Nasdaq Texas rule change that adds a formal definition of "digital commodity" to the exchange's listing standards for crypto exchange-traded products. The order (Release No. 34-106268) amends Rule 5711(d), the provision governing Commodity-Based Trust Shares, and marks the second time the SEC has signed off on this framework after approving a materially identical rule for The Nasdaq Stock Market in late July.
The filing, submitted by Nasdaq Texas LLC on August 20 under SR-NasdaqTX-2026-039, makes three concrete changes to the generic listing standards. First, it allows a commodity-based trust share to invest up to 15% of its net asset value in assets that do not meet existing eligibility requirements, provided those assets qualify as digital commodities or certain securities. Second, it writes a "digital commodity" definition into the rulebook for the first time. Third, it removes the prior passive-management requirement, clearing a path for actively managed crypto trust shares to list under the same standard.
At least 85% of a fund's net asset value must still be invested in assets that satisfy the existing surveillance and eligibility tests. Those tests require the underlying asset to have a futures contract trading on an ISG market for at least six months and an ETF providing at least 40% economic exposure. The SEC order names Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP as assets that currently satisfy those criteria.
The "digital commodity" definition itself borrows from the joint SEC-CFTC interpretive guidance that took effect March 23. Under the new language, a digital commodity is a digital asset that "derives its value from the programmatic operation of a functional crypto system, as well as supply and demand dynamics, rather than from the expectations of profits from the essential managerial efforts of others." Nasdaq Texas said it will file a conforming amendment if Congress enacts a statutory definition, a scenario that could materialize as soon as the September 15 Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act.
It is important to note what the order does not do. Despite headlines framing the approval as a federal classification of XRP or Solana as commodities, the SEC order is an exchange listing-standard change, not a nationwide commodity designation. Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP appear in the order as assets that meet Nasdaq Texas's specific listing test. The broader question of their legal status under federal securities law runs through the March 17 joint SEC-CFTC interpretation and ongoing litigation, not through this filing. The comment window opens 21 days after the order appears in the Federal Register; as of September 7, that publication has not yet occurred.
The 15% buffer is structurally significant for product designers. Before this change, every crypto trust listing on Nasdaq Texas had to satisfy a rigid set of generic standards or file a bespoke rule amendment. The new sleeve gives actively managed and multi-asset funds room to hold smaller tokens alongside a core of BTC, ETH, SOL and XRP. The threshold is consistent with the diversification limits the SEC has already approved for products like the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund. The removal of the passive-management mandate means a sponsor can now launch an actively traded crypto basket trust without a separate Commission order for each product.
The approval arrives during a period of rapid expansion in crypto ETP product pipelines. Evernorth's XRP treasury recently cleared an SEC hurdle on its path to a Nasdaq listing, and Grayscale launched the first U.S. Zcash ETF on NYSE Arca in August. The Texas rule is materially identical to the parent rule SR-NASDAQ-2026-032 approved July 27 (Release No. 34-105995), so it extends an existing framework across venues rather than breaking new regulatory ground.
The practical test for Rule 5711(d) will come in the fourth quarter. A sponsor must file the first S-1 or 19b-4 that actually invokes the 15% non-qualifying allowance. Until that happens, the rule is a template on a Texas venue — live, but waiting for a product to fill the sleeve it newly permits.
Sources
- [Blockchain Reporter: SEC Approves Nasdaq Texas Digital Commodity Rule](https://blockchainreporter.net/sec-nasdaq-texas-digital-commodity-rule/)
- [Finance Feeds: The SEC Order Everyone Read as XRP and Solana Are Commodities Is a 15% Buffer Rule for One Texas Exchange](https://financefeeds.com/sec-xrp-solana-commodity-nasdaq-texas-buffer/)
- [DailyCoin Brief: SEC Rule Clears XRP and Solana for ETFs](https://dailycoinbrief.com/the-sec-rule-that-quietly-cleared-xrp-and-solana-for-etfs/)
